Looking for some bike/xtracycle advice

[tjf9]

My husband and I have decided to go with the Xtracycle for hauling the children around until they get big enough to ride on their own. Now that brings us to a new dilemma - what bike to attach it to? We don't have any bike lying around to convert, so that's not an option. We'd like a bike we both can ride (I'm 5'3", he's 5'9" ish), and that will have good brakes, since it will have 250+ pounds worth of passenger when hubby is riding.

We are considering a Big Dummy (Surly), Radish (Xtracycle-made, not out yet) and Electra Townie Commuter. Any other bikes we should consider? Anyone have a Big Dummy or Electra Xtracycle setup? What do you think?

Hubby is really in favor of the Townie Commuter, but I'm a little afraid of those roller brakes. Anyone used those before? I did a search here and couldn't find anything on them.

Any and all input is welcome! (I know you ladies are not afraid to share your opinions :) ) Thanks!

[Blueberry]

This might give you some ideas: http://longleafbicycles.blogspot.com/2008/01/tired-of-looking-at-beautiful-bicycles.html

Good luck!!

CA

[tjf9]

Ooh...interesting...might be a little too crazy for my taste, but if we can't find a bike that works, I might have to try that!

[DebW]

There's a new Bridgestone MB-3 from 1994 or so sitting in my shop that I'd love to convert to an Xtracycle. 52 cm steel lugged MTB with no suspension, canti brakes, nice low gears. No shifters or cables on it at the moment...

[Blueberry]

There's a new Bridgestone MB-3 from 1994 or so sitting in my shop that I'd love to convert to an Xtracycle. 52 cm steel lugged MTB with no suspension, canti brakes, nice low gears. No shifters or cables on it at the moment...

*drool*

CA

[Rosie8]

Even though I don't ride one, the folks at bikerubbish.com have lots of pictures of Xtracycles using Electra bikes as their base. You could try emailing them or just look at all the nice photography. Just click on the bikes section.:)

[Geonz]

I'd be inclined to get the one that was available soonest. Seems there's a big waiting list for Big Dummys and I suspect there will be for the radish, too. I don't know what roller brakes are ...
I got my regular brakes switched to disk brakes because I was wearing out brake pads in two months with normal riding (we don't even have hills), and it's super-sweet to be able to stop in the rain or on slime or carrying a mess of stuff.
I wonder if people are more comfortable with the "whole frame" concept -
I can say that my Free Radical on my Giant Nutra (entry level hybrid from 1992 or thereabouts) has been very reliable... but I do have a really good mechanic (who's moving to Wisconsin in 6 weeks, sadness! but the other guys in the shop are good, too).

[sgtiger]

tjf9, my Dh borrowed an Xtracycle this past spring from one of his buddies that used a step-through mountain bike frame with 24" wheels (I think, or maybe they were 20" :confused:). At 5'8" he could ride it pretty comfortably and the frame was small enough that I could probably ride it too with the seat lowered and the handle bars angled toward the seat a bit. BTW I'm 5'2" with a ~27" inseam and I could straddle the top tube comfortably. Here's a pic for you:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/sgtiger3/R8TOuE5TKsI/AAAAAAAAAcs/O8KL6rUM1WI/s800/IMG_0332.JPG

[tjf9]

Rosie - thanks for the link! I love bike pr0n!


I'd be inclined to get the one that was available soonest. Seems there's a big waiting list for Big Dummys and I suspect there will be for the radish, too. I don't know what roller brakes are ...
I got my regular brakes switched to disk brakes because I was wearing out brake pads in two months with normal riding (we don't even have hills), and it's super-sweet to be able to stop in the rain or on slime or carrying a mess of stuff.
I wonder if people are more comfortable with the "whole frame" concept -
I can say that my Free Radical on my Giant Nutra (entry level hybrid from 1992 or thereabouts) has been very reliable... but I do have a really good mechanic (who's moving to Wisconsin in 6 weeks, sadness! but the other guys in the shop are good, too).


I hear ya on the wait list. I just got the call yesterday the FreeRads are in at my LBS, and I'm hoping to go buy something today. Even if we don't make a final decision on the bike, we'll at least buy our kit so we don't lose the opportunity.

So I can put disk brakes on any bike? I thought I had to have the mounts on there already? If I could go disk with any old bike, that opens up a whole world of options (and, I think, reduces the cost considerably!)!

We are lucky to have a shop in town that specializes in cargo bikes. We'll definitely be going there for whatever build there is. It's great to have an Xtra-experienced person like yourself hanging out here! Thanks for your help!

[tjf9]

tjf9, my Dh borrowed an Xtracycle this past spring from one of his buddies that used a step-through mountain bike frame with 24" wheels (I think, or maybe they were 20" :confused:). At 5'8" he could ride it pretty comfortably and the frame was small enough that I could probably ride it too with the seat lowered and the handle bars angled toward the seat a bit. BTW I'm 5'2" with a ~27" inseam and I could straddle the top tube comfortably. Here's a pic for you:

Cute! Looking at the pic, it looks like the "stoker" handlebar is attached to the seatpost of the, oh, whatever the front person an a tandem is called's seat :). We were thinking of putting a handlebar on for the kids, so that may impact our bike choice a bit - or at least impact how we attach that rear handlebar. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for sharing that!

[Blueberry]

Cute! Looking at the pic, it looks like the "stoker" handlebar is attached to the seatpost of the, oh, whatever the front person an a tandem is called's seat :).

Captain:)

Good luck with the decision - I'm kind of thinking of turning my old mountain bike into one. Does anyone know what the requirements are for the bike? Can I use an aluminum frame?

CA

[sgtiger]

Cute! Looking at the pic, it looks like the "stoker" handlebar is attached to the seatpost of the, oh, whatever the front person an a tandem is called's seat :). We were thinking of putting a handlebar on for the kids, so that may impact our bike choice a bit - or at least impact how we attach that rear handlebar. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for sharing that!

Thanks, that DD.:) And ,yes, the handlebar is attached to the seat post. It works with Dh because there's a lot of seat post sticking out that we could find a position that worked for DD and DS (who's about a foot taller). However, due to my short legs, I need the seat post almost all the way down which means there isn't much of the seat post with which to work. It brings the handlebars too low for either child to comfortably hold on for any length of time. IMO with the differences in heights of the riders, I'd find a way to attach the handlebars to the Free Radical itself. I've seen it done. I'm just not sure if it's sold in a kit or a DIY project. I'd talk to the guys at the commuter bike store. They probably have a few ideas on how to go about it.

[tjf9]

Thanks everyone for your replies! We just took the plunge a couple of hours ago - decided to go with an Electra Townie Balloon 8. (Apparently the last of those bikes available anywhere). They are building it up for us on Sunday! I am so excited to *hopefully* have it before the end of the long weekend.

Looks like there was enough seatpost left when both DH and I rode it to attach the stoker handlebars to the captain's (aha!) seatpost. The folks at this shop have installed that enough times, they thought it would be no problem.

I can't wait for my new bike! I'll post pics when it's done!

[tjf9]

Here's a pic of the new bike. We brought her home yesterday and took more than a few spins around the neighborhood. It's a blast! The kids are enjoying it (so far), but DH still is getting used to it. I'm hoping he'll at least take it to the store, without the kids, but we'll see. I took it to the store with both kids and picked up 2 gallons of milk and some other groceries, and it rode home fine. I'm loving it!

Thanks again for the advice!

[luvmypwds]

wow, cool. Never seen anything like it!

[KnottedYet]

Very verry verrry cool!

[sgtiger]

I love it! Thanks for posting the follow-up pic.:cool::D:D:D